It's a large, well-lit space. Tables are placed far enough apart that you can move easily around the floor. They've got a few banquet tables (up to 20 people) near the front door. Smaller tables (seating 4 or 6 people) are near the food and tucked around on one side, behind the dessert display.
A waiter or waitress will seat you and take your drink order and that's it. Everything else is on available on the buffet or else they don't have it.
The serving area is shaped like a giant U. The right half of the right side is hot Asian food. The always have things like fried rice, tempura vegetables, and some type of teriyaki. The other dishes change, possibly in a pattern (is it always red snapper on Wednesdays?) but enough that you shouldn't go with your heart set on, let's say the red snapper, because it might be cod instead that day.
The back of the right side is a little dim sum assortment (crab rangoon, shu mai, dumplings, and egg rolls) and a little soup bar (ramen, soba, and udon) made to order by a chef. The noodles are pre-cooked, and just require a moment of warming up in boiling water. Then they're added to pork broth and topped with your choice of fixings. Sadly, soft-boiled egg isn't on the list, but they have pork, fish, and a variety of vegetables.
The left half of the right side is a salad bar, and honestly my favorite part of the whole meal. This one doesn't seem to change as much: they always have a couple Western-style tossed salads (lettuce, tomato, etc.). There's some type of seaweed salad. There's a ceviche salad. They've had edamame in the shell every time I've been there, although sometimes it's plain and sometimes it's spiced. Then there are some room-temperature cooked vegetable dishes, and some more cold seafood.
The center of the U-shape (which, remember, is closest to the seating area) has cold seafood. If you go at dinner, it's got king crab legs, shrimp cocktail, and about 6 types of sashimi. At lunch, it's a little less extravagant: just tuna and salmon sashimi, the last time we went. Plus more salads and something in small cups that I think was fresh crab meat, but I neglected to try any.
The right half of the left side is the sushi bar, for which they're most famous. They have over 50 types of sushi and maki, all clearly labeled. I usually take one of anything that sounds good, which makes for a gorgeous plate:
The picture above has well under half of their total offerings: I skipped all the sushi except for the inari, and also dodged all the maki with cream cheese or fried foods in it.
The back of the left hand side is open so that you can get to the bathrooms. The right half of the right side is fruits and desserts, and includes a soft-serve ice cream maker loaded with vanilla and green tea flavors.
So if you have aren't a huge eater but you've got a chance to eat at Minado, what should you try? Here's my totally biased recommendation: go easy on the sushi and maki. Yes, it's tempting to just take one of everything, but in most cases the sushi is competent rather than extraordinary. If you have definite tastes (I love inari and anything with tobiko and avocado), start with those. Similarly, the desserts are competent but not amazing, except for the lychee jello which really is great. Don't worry about saving room for more than a bite or two of the sweet stuff. [Exception: crepe station at dinner. See below.]
Out of the hot-food offerings, I think the red snapper, the fried scallops, and the teriyaki are the best. My cousins swear by the seafood stew. The green beans or Chinese broccoli, if they have them, are also solid choices. The tempura is really hit or miss - get some if the dish just came out and is still hot, but otherwise don't bother. The dim sum selection is very strong and I recommend getting one of everything that sounds good to you. The soup bar is relatively new and I haven't fully made up my mind about it. I used to say that I'd never turn down free ramen, but the lack of an egg has started to annoy me. The udon and soba are both enjoyable. Once again, if you like soup, then get one. The bowls are small, so you won't fill up on it.
If you go at dinner, there's a crepe station taking up part of the salad bar space. Those crepes are good! I'd spend my dessert calories there, if anywhere.
On the salad bar, I really love the fried eggplant, the baby bok choy with shitake mushrooms, and the sauteed spinach with sesame seeds. The seaweed salad is usually good, and the scallop ceviche was a revelation.
If you do go at dinner, load up on crab legs and shrimp cocktail. Both are presented well and they're a large part of why you're paying double at the dinner hour. The other reason is the sashimi, which is also really good.
Last thoughts: this is a great restaurant if you're a pescetarian, but a little more challenging if you're a vegetarian or vegan. A lot of things have fish sauce or fish flakes on them.
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